Raymond Bailey was ”the banker’s hero” after his role on The Beverly Hillbillies

His success as The Clampetts’ banker was so unexpected, he wouldn’t have even put money on it.
Raymond Bailey played the role of Milburn Drysdale, an uptight banker who could be counted on to handle The Clampett’s cash in the hit series The Beverly Hillbillies (1962).

He was the financial advisor for the family and educated them on modern banking and other financial matters for a total of nine seasons. His character also provided a much needed contrast between a new rich family and the uppercrust of an already established area.

Bailey’s characterization as a banker was so good that many people across the country began to take notice. You may remember Milburn Drysdale for being sophisticated, a bit of a snob and generally uptight — but real bankers all across the country remember him as one of them.
His performance in the role may not have won Bailey any awards, but it did win him the title as a ”hero” among other bankers.

According to a 1965 interview with Battle Creek Enquirer, Bailey was in great demand for speeches, personal appearances, conventions and was loved by bankers.

“I’ve been made a member of the Southern California Independent Bankers Association,” Bailey said. “And I’ve made trips around the country to accept plaques. It’s a lot of fun.”

In his youth, Bailey was a bank messenger for two years, but abandoned the career field in banking because it was too dull for his taste. If only he knew being a ”banker” would be the best job he’s ever had — fictional or not.

According to another 1964 interview with The Miami Herald, Bailey said Milburn Drysdale and his secretary, Jane Hathaway, were so well loved by fans that he began referring to them as “the fifth and sixth hillbillies.”

“I think we work off each other pretty well,” Bailey said. “The family respects Mr. Drysdale. And they don’t call his wife a snob. There is a long way to go with this show.”

With Jed, Granny, Elly and Jethro, Bailey’s life was always rich.

Max Baer Jr. was known for playing the role of Jethro on The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), but he was also known for another role on the same show: Jethrine.

Jethrine is Jethro’s twin sister who appeared in eleven episodes of the hit series. She was a big, deep-voiced girl standing over 6’4 — but a girl, though.

According to a 1963 interview with The Pittsburgh Press, Baer Jr. said he never expected Jethrine to come with his role, but there he was, in a dress and a blonde wig.

The actor admitted that at first, he was against the decision to add a sister to his story. He said he looked like an unlikely woman and worried that audiences would find it tacky.

“The producer had asked me if I had any inhibitions about playing a girl and I told him I don’t have any inhibitions in front of a camera,” Baer Jr. said. “I just wanted to know if it was going to help me career-wise. The role is very difficult.”

Baer Jr. had no choice but to accept his new sister like she was family. He said even his brother didn’t recognize him the first time he appeared on The Beverly Hillbillies wearing a dress and a blonde wig.

“There’s curiosity to the point where people have written in to see if it’s a girl or a boy,” Baer Jr. said. “For one show we’ll use a split screen and the audience will see me as both a boy and a girl. That will really confuse them.”

Over time, Baer Jr. started to embrace this newfound feminine side. He said, at first, he had trouble with her makeup, but he eventually adjusted. Even though he’s the only leading lady with a 5 o’clock shadow, it seemed natural that he should portray his own sister.

How could the producers find a girl the size of Max Baer Jr.? Sure, his female impersonation may not have won him an Emmy, but he did develop a fanbase as Jethrine, and he was able to show his depth as an actor. And for fans who didn’t like Jethro’s twin sister?

“Anytime you do something out of the ordinary people will tease you about it,” Baer Jr. said. said.

When Baer Jr. was playing Jethro he got a lot of love, too. According to a 1962 interview with The Birmingham News, Baer Jr. said he would receive more fan letters than anyone else on the show with an estimated 2,000 fan letters per week.

“It’s all marriage those proposals I’m getting in the mail,” Baer Jr. said. said. “Gosh, the girls sent in their pictures and some are mighty pretty, too. But they must to know one thing: I’m not the marrying kind. I like to date, but rarely the same girl twice in a row.”

Whether he was playing Jethro or Jethrine; Baer Jr. received a lot of love for his role(s) on The Beverly Hillbillies. He was a man who looked like a lady, or a man who looked like his twin sister.